Exxon Mobil Corp. believes it has found an answer to a problem that has bedeviled the auto industry in recent years: using rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, like those found in cell phones and laptops, to power cars and trucks.

This weekend, at a conference in Anaheim, Calif., Exxon Mobil will unveil a super-thin plastic sheeting the company says can improve the power, safety and reliability of lithium-ion batteries for use in automobiles.

Exxon Mobil considers the film a breakthrough because it allows battery makers to build smaller and cheaper battery systems — removing key obstacles that have kept automakers from building hybrid and electric vehicles on a wide scale.

The theory thus follows that if you can make smaller, more efficient batteries, then the automakers can produce a wider range of affordable hybrid vehicles for the market, lessening our dependence on fossil fuels and reducing the impact of gas-powered vehicles on the environment.

But we all know the real question for us is: How will these new vehicles look with some 20" rims?

And are the trunks spacious enough for a booming system?

Because just getting great gas mileage can't be the issue, can it? If it is, why do I still see so many gas guzzling SUV's all over the road, especially in the hood?

I laugh when I see that the United States wants to increase average CAFE MPG standards for cars to 35MPG by 220. So, the US Congress has passed a bill that plans to have the United States achieve in 2020 only about 15% LESS than what the Japanese are doing right now!

Way to stay competitive!!!!!!!!!

The Washington Post says,

"The United States, with current efficiency standards of 27.5 miles per gallon for cars and 22.2 per gallon for SUVs and small trucks, has lagged behind the rest of the developed world. In the European Union, automakers have agreed to voluntary increases in fuel-economy standards that next year will lift the average to 44.2 miles per gallon, according to the Pew Center on Global Climate Change." Washington Post

Meanwhile, Brazil has converted school buses that run on used cooking oil. Somehow, I don't think staying in the forefront and combating global warming are priorities that are making much progress in the United States.

It's like a New Years resolution to still be 20% fatter than your neighbors in the year 2020! :) LOL

LOL at your New Years resolution. That's exactly what this is like. It seems like the US is not even trying to compete in this arena, ceding the field to the Japenese, Europeans, and yes, Brazilians.

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Anonymous
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